[bryany]

I put it off as long as I could but finally worked up the nerve to tackle the exhaust project on my 78 TA, 400 manual trans. I had bought the parts before I retired in 2018 but knew that once I started the job, I'd have to keep at it till it was done. Wise enough to know what I was getting into I am also old enough to be a little lazy about it.

I got the shop cleaned up and well supplied before I pulled the car around.

Day 1, cut off the old hammered exhaust system. Sawsall was the right tool for the job. Removed all existing hangers. Unbolted the old exhaust manifolds...twisted off one bolt on the drivers side...

Spent the next couple of days trying to clean up the broken bolt but it was flush with the head surface and defied my attempts to remove it. After an appropriate amount of time, I came to the conclusion that I would have to remove the head to do things right.

I ordered a top end gasket kit and a few other needed parts and started tearing down the engine. Removed the AC equipment and stored it for the future. Pulled carb, intake, valve covers, valley pan, and heads. unbolted everything that was in the way.

Cleaned up gasket surfaces and the shiny parts that needed a good cleaning. Ended up painting the heads and intake after cleaning everything I could get at. Built block off plates for choke and egr, Choke tube was rusted off and did not survive the removal. Traced vacuum hoses and eliminated most of them as I found broken plastic parts used to hook them up. Got the engine put back together and looking better than it has in years.

Pypes ram air manifolds bolted up well with new bolts. Cleaned up any parts that had to be removed for the install. Layed out new exhaust pipe system. Everything looked pretty good on the shop floor. I had a few band clamps for the install and would use regular clamps on the rest of the connections.

Like the instructions said, start from the back and work forward. I spent some time getting the tail pipes where I wanted them, not perfect but pretty close. I ended up trimming pipe a couple of places to get it right. Make small cuts as needed. When I hung the cross flow muffler, I struggled with the hangers. They didn't seem very solid and didn't put the muffler where I wanted it. I spent time on the internet looking at different hangers and ended up with something labeled for an F body muffler hanger.

Head pipes were bolted up loose and exhaust pipes were dummied to the mufflers. I worried everything for a couple of days till I thought I had things in place. Cut some length out of the system and started tightening clamps. Taking it slow seems to have paid off, everything came together quite nicely. No loose parts and enough clearance almost everywhere. I had to loosen the brake line clamp on the diff tube to move the line a little farther out of the way.

After making it a bigger job than intended, it was time to turn the key and hope for the best. Among the little jobs I did, included a new fuel line from the pump to the carb and a new speedometer driven gear in the trans. I cleaned bolts and replaced missing fasteners as I found them.

The engine fired up and had a good sound through the new pipes. The idle was off but it ran well enough to warm things up a little. I pulled the car back into the shop and went back over the clamps and other fasteners to make sure they were still tight. By this time, I was tired of the project and wanted to put the car away till the weather got better. This is the Wyoming winter that never seems to end though.

Here it is mid April and we've had a couple of days nice enough to get the car out and see how it runs. The sound is great, nice rumble and no drone. We've taken a few laps around town just to put some time on it. The speedo was not showing any sign of life but that's another job. The motor sounds great and of course I think it runs better than ever. I didn't realize how hammered the old pipes were till I cut them out. Restrictive and a loose pass side manifold. Now we have no exhaust smell in the car, better idle quality, and it sounds like a classic car.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with the Pypes system. I would encourage them to suggest options for muffler hangers and band clamps in strategic locations. The most valuable resource I had access to was time. There was no rush to complete the job, the weather was too nasty to make use of the car anyway.

Bryan